


Snowed In

by obscureenthusiast



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Beverly Crusher is a flirt, Beverly and Ro's combined powers of sass could destroy a moon, F/F, First Kiss, I guess I'm just gonna dig myself into this rarepair for good huh?, Only One Bed, Snowed In, feat. Ro Laren and her emotional issues!!!!!!, oh and of course, surprising no one who has read my patented 'Tasha Yar and her emotional issues' fics, there's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 17:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17666891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscureenthusiast/pseuds/obscureenthusiast
Summary: While on an away mission at a Federation colony, Ro Laren and Dr. Crusher find themselves stranded for the night in a tiny shack while a snow storm rages outside. And Ro has never liked the cold.





	Snowed In

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this is my first time writing for this pairing, so here's hoping I do them justice!! ^_^ This one is for me and the 5 other Ro and Beverly fans lmaoo

“I’m afraid the weather is just too ugly down there,” Commander Riker was saying, his voice somewhat distorted with static and interference, “You’ll have to stay down there until this storm clears up.”

Ro bit her tongue to keep from complaining, but couldn’t stop the eyeroll that followed the commander’s words. 

A few feet away, she saw Dr. Crusher’s face crack with an amused smile, but the doctor didn’t betray Ro’s annoyance. Instead, she replied with diplomatic calm:

“We’ll bunker down, then. Thank you, Will. Crusher out.”

As the comm channel closed, Ro let out a loud sigh and rubbed her hands together to try to warm them. Beverly walked across the cramped room and checked the small heating unit set in the corner.

They had beamed down to a Federation settlement to make sure that all was going well and to make sure that the rudimentary hospital had what it needed to see to the requirements of the settlers. It was only supposed to take a day, but a snowstorm had blown in and stranded them.

The settlers had kindly offered a place for them to stay for the night, a tiny building not much bigger than a shack with only the basic supplies. It was very generous of them, considering how little they had to begin with but…

Ro felt a shiver run up her spine and she tugged her Starfleet-issued cold weather jacket marginally tighter around herself, barely holding back a grumble of dissatisfaction.

It was still _cold_. Even with the heater in the corner diligently warming up the space so it was at least above freezing. 

Dr. Crusher looked over at Ro, who shivered again even though she tried to hide it.

The doctor frowned with concern, “Ro, are you-”

“I’m fine,” Ro snapped, crossing her arms and looking away.

“Oh, of course you are,” Crusher said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “I guess chattering teeth is just a sign of health and wellbeing in Bajorans, then?”

Ro felt her cheeks rush with warmth (the _only_ part of her that was at all warm at this point) and she rolled her eyes, “My teeth are _not_ chattering.”

Crusher snorted softly and sat down on the bed near the heater, “Just come and sit down over here.”

“I said I’m fine.”

Crusher laughed, “You’re really going to let your stubbornness make you miserable?”

Ro paused, hesitating over the doctor’s words and keeping herself from uttering all the sharp words that her bruised ego wanted to say.

The way that Dr. Crusher spoke to her, so… casually insistent, she supposed? It reminded her of the way Guinan talked. Straightforward and unafraid to say what was needed, but also… gentle. 

At last, Ro got up from her seat and went to sit next to the doctor, keeping her back straight and her hands folded in her lap even as Crusher tucked her feet up on the bed and leaned back against the pillows, lounging comfortably and easily.

“I take it you’re not used to the cold?” Crusher asked, smiling lightly.

Ro sighed out a breath, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she considered her response.

“Where I grew up on Bajor it was warm. Even in winter it was mild,” she said, “Barely ever got below freezing, much less stayed there for very long.”

As if to punctuate her words, another shiver ran through her and she sucked in a sharp breath and held her hands slightly closer to the heater, not even looking at the doctor as she continued:

“I’ve always hated the cold. So this is a little bit of a nightmare situation, if I’m being honest,” she chuckled despite herself, shaking her head, “But what about you, Dr. Crusher?”

“Call me Beverly.”

Ro frowned, snapping her gaze over to meet the redhead’s eyes at this unexpected response.

“Why?” she asked, the harsh single syllable already leaving her lips before she could temper it into something gentle.

The doctor’s eyebrows shot upwards, but rather than becoming defensive at Ro’s tone, she merely shrugged her shoulders.

“Because I’d like you to call me that instead of ‘Dr. Crusher’,” she said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she added, “It’s not like we’re really on duty any more, Ro. At this point we’re just playing the waiting game.”

Something in her eyes made Ro agree with her. A spark of that playfulness Ro had seen little pieces of here and there, when the woman had talked about… about dancing with ambassadors and drinking with admirals. The flirtatious way she spoke about things she shouldn’t do.

“Okay,” Ro said, her voice softer, suddenly, without her having to school it into gentleness, “what about you, Beverly? Do you like the cold?”

A big, glowing smile made its way onto the doctor’s face when Ro used her first name. It was the kind of smile that Ro wanted to keep around, it seemed to warm up the very room with its appearance.

“I love snow,” Beverly said, “I used to go skiing with my family every year. Now me and Wes go any time we’re back on Earth, but with the way things have been, we’re lucky if we make it once a year,” she shrugged, “So, now we have a holodeck program in case we get the itch. It’s not quite the same, but it’s close.”

Ro felt a small smile tugging at her lips, “I’ve never been skiing.”

Beverly tilted her head, “Would you like to learn?”

A laugh escaped her and Ro looked away, her face heating a little, “I didn’t mean that… I wasn’t trying to get an invitation…”

“But now you’ve got one,” Beverly said, so frank and straightforward and…

Ro looked back over to Beverly, still lounging against the headboard of the bed with a smile on her face, her red hair framing her face and her bright blue eyes.

Before Ro could speak, before she could try to form whatever it was that was making her heart race like she was running a marathon into words, Beverly said, her voice quiet.

“Glad to see you’ve stopped shivering.”

Ro nodded numbly, swallowing to wet her dry throat and blinking a few times in an attempt to get her own thoughts back under control, “Uh… yeah. Thank you.”

She felt the bed shift under her and glanced back to Beverly to find that the doctor was sitting up, leaning toward her with a distant, thoughtful expression.

“My grandmother used to say that snow was like… a hush falling from the sky down to the world,” she smiled, her eyes refocusing on Ro’s face, her gaze catching the Bajoran’s, “It’s peaceful and quiet. It brings you closer to the people around you.”

Ro snorted, letting a small smirk play at the corner of her mouth, “Literally and figuratively.”

Despite the joke, Ro felt herself leaning closer to Beverly, inching ever slightly nearer on the edge of the bed.

Beverly bit her lip, her eyes sparking with that sense of playfulness that Ro had seen there before.

“Well,” she said, matter-of-factly, “you know the best way to transfer body heat is… skin to skin.”

Ro scoffed, her eyes flickering from Beverly’s eyes to her lips of their own volition, her heart stuttering at the thought that crossed through her mind.

This was a dangerous game, she knew. Beverly was still her superior officer and, although at this point she hardly wanted to think about it, Ro was _more_ than just an ensign, she was an ex-convict who had lost all standing she’d once had in Starfleet.

Beverly deserved more than this.

Ro let out a quiet breath and moved back from Beverly, whispering, “It’s good that things aren’t quite that dire, then.”

Her voice sounded odd. Broken to her own ears as she pulled away.

“Ro.”

And suddenly one of Beverly’s hands was on her shoulder, the other gently brushing at Ro’s jawline. Tugging her back.

She allowed herself to be directed back to Beverly and inhaled deeply. 

Beverly’s fingertips still caressed her cheek, her hand still rested on Ro’s shoulder as her eyes caught Ro and _still_ something in her, perhaps that finely-tuned sense of self-preservation that had seen her escaping Bajor when she was barely more than a child… was shouting for her to pull away. Move back to the cold corner of the room and pretend this hadn’t happened.

It was getting quieter every millisecond she spent under Beverly’s gaze, though.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t shut me out,” Beverly said, her voice quiet, “I just want-”

Ro didn’t wait for the rest of Beverly’s sentence, she leaned in and kissed her, one hand combing into Beverly’s soft red locks and the other resting at her hip, tugging the doctor closer.

Beverly gasped, but quickly returned the kiss, her hands grasping at Ro’s jacket as she deepened the kiss and pulled her in, humming with pleasure as her tongue slipped into Ro’s mouth. 

It wasn’t until they broke apart for breath that Ro felt a heavy sense of guilt washing over her. The sweetness of Beverly’s lips had kept it at bay but the moment the cold air of reality came rushing back into Ro’s lungs, she winced her eyes closed and leaned away.

“I… shouldn’t have done that…” she managed, her whisper hoarse and breathless as she avoided looking at Beverly.

“I beg to differ,” Beverly said, leaning closer.

Ro shook her head, “But I’m not…” she scoffed, unable to form her thoughts into words in this exact moment.

Beverly chuckled, her breaths brushing against Ro’s cheek as she leaned in to kiss her, “You’re Ro Laren. And that’s all I want right now.”

A very slight smile made its way onto Ro’s face as Beverly pulled her in again.

“What were you saying about the best way to transfer body heat?” she asked.

Beverly grinned, quirking one eyebrow upward, “It _is_ getting colder.”

In this particular moment, Ro disagreed with that statement, but she wasn’t about to go and say so. She leaned in and caught Beverly’s lips once more, allowing herself to enjoy this moment.

Getting snowed in didn’t seem quite so bad, now that she thought of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please feel free to leave a comment and a kudos or come yell at me at my Star Trek tumblr @softbutchtashayar! :D


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